By David Carnduff

A THEATRE group famed for performing in outlandish settings is bringing a groundbreaking new show to East Renfrewshire.

Oceanallover, which performs in locations as diverse as museums, sewage works, gardens and rubbish dumps, is set to impress outdoor audiences at Kingston Playing Fields, Neilston, and Barrhead Water Works.

The group will perform Sea Hames, which is inspired by Orkney’s Festival of the Horse and Boys’ Ploughing Match – a tradition more than 200 years old in which children dress as Clydesdale horses alongside the patterns of straight lines made by ploughs along the shore.

The 10-strong troupe say the multi-disciplinary performance fuses live music and intricate costumes to explore the mythology and iconography of the horse, the plough and the land.

A show spokesman said: “Oceanallover’s performance interventions are designed to subvert and surprise an audience that is a mixture of the unwise, the unwary and the unwitting.

“They are accessibly challenging and challengingly accessible.

“The rituals of horse, land and sea inspire the visual poetry of Sea Hames and the choreography responds to sources of natural power and green spaces, such as fields, wind and water turbine sites.”

Alex Rigg, artistic director of Oceanallover, lived on Orkney for several years and was inspired by an incident in 1984 when two Clydesdale horses jumped the gate to their field and charged down to the beach.

Sea Hames can be seen at the Kingston Playing Fields at 6pm this Friday and at Barrhead Water Works at 3pm on Saturday.

The event is free but ticketed, with places to be booked in advance. This can be done online at www.diglasgow.com.

Transport from Barrhead Water Works and back will be provided.

Cars won’t have access to the site and, as performances are outdoors, audience members are advised to dress for the weather, with suitable footwear for uneven surfaces.